Ayo Ositelu (1943-2013)

Game, set and match for a prominent sports journalist and administrator

The death of Deacon Ayo Ositelu on January 9 marks the departure of one of Nigeria’s most experienced and knowledgeable sports journalists who bestrode the diverse worlds of sports journalism, sports administration and grassroots governance.

As one of the country’s pioneer sports journalists working in the print media, Ositelu brought an articulateness and depth of analysis that had previously been uncommon in the profession. He was one of the few individuals who did not see sports reporting as a career dead-end which attracted those who could not cover more prestigious beats. In a glittering journalistic sojourn which included stints at some of Nigeria’s most admired newspapers, he manifested the beauty of sports reporting and commentary through personal example. His long-running sports column, “The Arena,” was so popular and so closely identified with him that it became his nickname.

Deacon Ositelu took sports journalism to new levels in his extended analysis of tennis, soccer and other sports. He was blessed with an eye for the quirky and the unusual, and could draw upon an almost-faultless mental encyclopaedia to draw out the significance of particular landmarks in sporting history. The passion and sense of seriousness with which he wrote about sports was so palpable that it was no longer possible to dismiss either sports journalism or its practitioners as “lesser” journalists. His administrative capacities were not in doubt either: he rose to become editor of The Sunday Punch and served on editorial boards where his experience was put to good use.

Such was Ositelu’s versatility that he seamlessly transferred his skills to the electronic media and was in demand as an analyst on television where he continually impressed viewers with his depth of knowledge and understanding of different sporting events, and the murky politics which underpinned them.

He did not stop at merely talking about sports; he administered it as well. He was Chairman of the Lagos State Tennis Association and was frequently made a member of different initiatives and bodies designed to improve sporting activity at the state and national levels. He never passed up an opportunity to responsibly utilise his credibility, and continually wrote and spoke against the ills that were besetting Nigerian sports and preventing it from assuming its proper place in Nigerian life.

Born on April 6, 1943, Deacon Ositelu was also prominent in grassroots politics. He was the first Executive Chairman of the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), where he oversaw much of the hard work involved in putting it on a sound footing. Even after stepping down from the position, he was a keen participant in the council’s activities.

As is usual when prominent professionals pass on, it must be wondered whether those to whom the baton has been passed are prepared to carry it with similar commitment and professionalism. While Nigeria can boast of many competent sports journalists, it must be admitted that some practitioners are not as professional as they ought to be. Unlike Ositelu, for whom exclusive stories were non-negotiable, many of his successors are content to source stories from the internet, and to pass off rumour and innuendo as news. Again, unlike Ositelu, whose independence was unquestionable, many of today’s sports journalists are a little too quick to take sides instead of reporting events thoroughly, honestly and neutrally.

There can be no doubt that the sporting fraternity in particular, and Nigeria as a whole, has lost a man who stood out for his professional commitment, his personal integrity and his unstinting generosity. May his soul rest in peace.